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'From nothing to something': Tribble Stone Co. marks 70 years in Boulder County

By Sarah Kuta

For the Camera

Posted:
08/12/2017 10:00:00 AM MDT

Updated:
08/14/2017 06:29:22 AM MDT

Gregory Villafuerte, left, and his nephew Arnold Villafuerte prepare to cut a 14-inch-thick piece of sandstone at Tribble Stone Co., located on U.S. 36 between Boulder and Lyons, on Aug. 3. The stone company is celebrating 70 years in business. (Lewis Geyer / Staff Photographer)

You've probably seen their work without realizing it.

It's on the outside of Boulder's Home Depot and covers many of the buildings on the University of Colorado's Boulder campus.

You'll find it outside the Humane Society of Boulder Valley and Longmont's Altona Middle School. It's at the Twenty Ninth Street mall in Boulder, FlatIron Crossing mall in Broomfield and dozens of other places across Colorado.

After 70 years in business in Boulder County, it's no wonder Tribble Stone Co.'s work is everywhere.

The family business, which was founded in 1947, has remained a staple for stone masons, contractors, architects and landscapers, providing them with thousands of tons of raw and custom-cut stone over the years, including locally quarried red and buff sandstone.

Jayne Tribble and Eric Tribble, co-owners of Tribble Stone Co. in Boulder County, pose for a photo near a stone bridge at their company's site along U.S. 36 between Boulder and Lyons on July 31. The stone company is celebrating 70 years in business. (Matthew Jonas / Staff Photographer)

What started as a small mom-and-pop operation has blossomed into a multi-million-dollar per year business — without losing its focus on customer service.

"It went from nothing to something," said Jayne Tribble, one of the business's co-owners and the former daughter-in-law of its founders.

A business is born

Tribble Stone has remained in the same location since it was founded, too. Drive between Boulder and Lyons on U.S. 36 and you've likely noticed the company's 13-acre property on the east side of the highway.

That was the spot, at 8632 N. Foothills Highway, that Chuck Tribble chose with his wife Letha Tribble for the family's business and home, which he built "room by room," Jayne Tribble said.

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Before getting into stone, however, Chuck Tribble studied to be a painter at the University of Denver in the 1920s. He dabbled in construction work before joining the Army.

When he got out, he began quarrying stone northwest of Lyons and selling it on the side of the road.

"When cars would come by looking for stone, I'd fill up the back of their car for a dollar," Chuck Tribble said in an interview recorded two years before his 1994 death, part of the Maria Rogers Oral History Program at the Boulder Public Library. "And things started growing a little bit."

After a while, people started asking him to do small jobs with the material he was selling, such as building stone staircases.

"Some fella came along and wanted me to build a set of steps for him," Chuck Tribble recalled in the 1992 interview. "I told him, 'Look, I've never done this. I don't know how to go about it.' He said, 'Well come try it, it isn't very complicated.' So I went and tried it. I thought (the stairs) looked awful, but he was delighted."

The jobs kept getting bigger. He began stockpiling stone where the business is located today so he'd have material to work with. People kept stopping by to buy stone and the yard grew.

"It progressed into a small stone yard that my mother ran most of the time when he was out doing construction work," his son, Eric Tribble, said.

Stone at CU

More than five dozen buildings on the CU campus are covered in local sandstone, and Chuck Tribble had a hand in many of those built or renovated during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

He spent eight years working at the university full time before transitioning into a consulting role in quality control. CU awarded him a university medal in 1994 for his contribution to the campus.

Instead of simply stacking one stone on top of the other, Chuck Tribble used his artistic background to create eye-catching stonework. He made sure the university didn't end up with substandard work from contractors, either.

The sign outside the Humane Society of Boulder Valley, seen here last week, was made by Tribble Stone Co. (Paul Aiken / Staff Photographer)

"When they lay brick and block, about all they can do is lay it straight and lay it fast," Chuck Tribble said in the 1992 interview. "Stonework is a totally different ballgame. It's pick and choose and select and there are any number of ways to lay stone which are perfectly valid if they're well-done."

The university's iconic style was developed by architect Charles Klauder, who began the tradition of using local stone and red clay tile roofs with Hellems Arts and Sciences in 1921. And after nearly 100 years, CU has no plans to stop using local sandstone anytime soon.

"It's pretty important and unique that we're still able to utilize a local material for our buildings," said Bill Haverly, campus architect and director of facilities planning at CU.

Family affair

Eric Tribble, who was born two years after the founding of Tribble Stone in 1949, helped his dad first in the quarry , then with stonework construction projects as a kid. As he got older, he began getting more involved in sales and other aspects of the family business.

He met Jayne Tribble on a blind date in 1979 and they were married in 1984. Though they've since divorced, they've remained business partners.

The pair officially took over the business in 1990.

In retirement, Chuck Tribble returned to his artist roots and spent much of his newfound free time sculpting until his death in 1994. His bronze sculptures are still scattered throughout the stone yard today. Letha Tribble died in the family home on the property in 2009.

Fabrication focus

Though they've maintained Chuck and Letha Tribble's focus on building personal relationships with customers, Eric and Jayne Tribble also have expanded and modernized the business.

Tribble Stone is no longer in the construction business. Instead, the company is focused exclusively on sales and stone fabrication, or custom cutting

"The way the stone industry has changed, it used to be a lot more bulk product and now it's predominately fabrication," Eric Tribble said. "We used to just bring it down from the quarry and sell it as-is, and now we don't do that very much."

Using a set of saws and cutters, they can create custom stone designs and styles requested by customers. They can make everything from small patio pavers to large blocks of sandstone used for chimney caps.

Tribble Stone's staff can also cut thin veneer pieces for building exteriors, such as many of the new UC Health centers being built along the Front Range. They also cut and engrave large stone signs used by businesses, nonprofits groups, churches, schools and neighborhoods.

Steven Peterson, a Boulder County-based landscape designer, buys almost all of his stone from Tribble Stone. He incorporates stone into his landscape designs because it adds a unique visual element to the project, particularly during the colder months.

"When all the plants have died and the leaves have dropped, the only thing left are a few evergreens and the stone work," Peterson said. "The stone becomes a really important visual element connecting the ground to whatever might be the overstory — the trees and shrubs and, eventually, the building."

For Peterson, it's the Tribbles and their staff that keep him coming back, job after job. Beyond that, he says Tribble Stone's selection and assortment of stone is second to none. And, if they don't have something he wants, they'll get it for him.

"It's just the most wonderful relationship," he said. "They're very knowledgeable and willing to go the extra mile."

Jay Anderson spent 17 years working for Chuck Tribble and now works as an independent stone masonry contractor. Aside from learning much of what he knows about stone masonry from Chuck Tribble, Anderson continues to buy stone from Tribble Stone because of the yard's selection and customer care.

He'll likely keep coming back, too, while he's in the stone masonry business. As long as people want a low-maintenance and enduring material, there will always be a demand for stone.

"It's everlasting," Anderson said of stone. "I don't see it going out of fashion. It's so durable and it's got the beauty that is timeless."

Looking forward

Though the company was hit hard by the Great Recession, the Tribbles are building the business back up to pre-recession levels today.

They're nearing retirement age, but the Tribbles say they have no plans to stop working anytime soon. They haven't yet decided what will happen to the stone yard when they're finally ready to call it quits, but if the last 70 years are any indication, you'll likely continue to see their stone everywhere you look.

"When you take a hard hit like that, it really is tough to rebuild it, but we're really excited," Jayne Tribble said. "Things are looking up and business is good."

Jessie Baca, left, is directed by Gregory Villafuerte to position a 14-inch-thick piece of sandstone for cutting at Tribble Stone Co., located on U.S. 36 between Boulder and Lyons, on Aug. 3. The stone company is celebrating 70 years in business. (Lewis Geyer / Staff Photographer)

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